Volume 15, Issue 3 e70273
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access

Integrated spatial multi-omics profiling of Fusobacterium nucleatum in breast cancer unveils its role in tumour microenvironment modulation and cancer progression

Feng Zhao

Feng Zhao

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

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Rui An

Rui An

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

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Yilei Ma

Yilei Ma

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

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Shaobo Yu

Shaobo Yu

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

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Yuzhen Gao

Yuzhen Gao

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

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Yanzhong Wang

Yanzhong Wang

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

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Haitao Yu

Haitao Yu

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

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Xinyou Xie

Corresponding Author

Xinyou Xie

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Correspondence

Jun Zhang and Xinyou Xie, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310000, People's Republic of China.

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Jun Zhang

Corresponding Author

Jun Zhang

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

Correspondence

Jun Zhang and Xinyou Xie, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310000, People's Republic of China.

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 11 March 2025
Citations: 1

Feng Zhao and Rui An contributed equally to this work and shared the first authorship of this article.

Abstract

Tumour-associated microbiota are integral components of the tumour microenvironment (TME). However, previous studies on intratumoral microbiota primarily rely on bulk tissue analysis, which may obscure their spatial distribution and localized effects. In this study, we applied in situ spatial-profiling technology to investigate the spatial distribution of intratumoral microbiota in breast cancer and their interactions with the local TME. Using 5R 16S rRNA gene sequencing and RNAscope FISH/CISH on patients’ tissue, we identified significant spatial heterogeneity in intratumoral microbiota, with Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) predominantly localized in tumour cell-rich areas. GeoMx digital spatial profiling (DSP) revealed that regions colonized by F. nucleatum exhibit significant influence on the expression of RNAs and proteins involved in proliferation, migration and invasion. In vitro studies indicated that co-culture with F. nucleatum significantly stimulates the proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells. Integrative spatial multi-omics and co-culture transcriptomic analyses highlighted the MAPK signalling pathways as key altered pathways. By intersecting these datasets, VEGFD and PAK1 emerged as critical upregulated proteins in F. nucleatum-positive regions, showing strong positive correlations with MAPK pathway proteins. Moreover, the upregulation of VEGFD and PAK1 by F. nucleatum was confirmed in co-culture experiments, and their knockdown significantly reduced F. nucleatum-induced proliferation and migration. In conclusion, intratumoral microbiota in breast cancer exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity, with F. nucleatum colonization markedly altering tumour cell protein expression to promote progression and migration. These findings provide novel perspectives on the role of microbiota in breast cancer, identify potential therapeutic targets, and lay the foundation for future cancer treatments.

Key points

  • Intratumoral Fusobacterium nucleatum exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity within breast cancer tissues.

  • F. nucleatum colonization alters the expression of key proteins involved in tumour progression and migration.

  • The MAPK signalling pathway is a critical mediator of F. nucleatum-induced breast cancer cell proliferation and migration.

  • VEGFD and PAK1 are potential therapeutic targets to mitigate F. nucleatum-induced tumour progression.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

All sequencing data generated and analyzed during this study are publicly available in the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) under the accession numbers PRJNA1157313 and PRJNA1163343. Additional data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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